What is the significance of '14 generations' in Matthew’s account of Jesus's genealogy?

Question

After giving Jesus's genealogy in the first chapter, Matthew goes on to point out the number of generations between significant events:

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. —Matthew 1:17

What is the significance of '14 generations'? Does this fulfill a specific prophecy? Does the number 14 itself hold any special meaning? How would a 1st century Jewish reader interpret this fact?

Answer 1

Numerology

A recent question linked to a reference of meaning of various numbers in the Bible and this passage seem to be the primary source of meaning for the number 14. None of the other references seem particularly compelling and seem to be included for data-mining purposes. I would say that the number 14 has no particular meaning in the Bible outside of this passage.

Prophesy

While there are many Old Testament prophesies that are said to apply to Jesus, I don't know of any that involve 14 generations. It is clear that the Messiah must come from the line of David, but nothing in the Jewish texts require him to be any particular generation away from David.

Interpretation

So why did Matthew make a point of specifying the number of generations? Simply put, genealogy and numerology were important to 1^st century Jews as they are to most people throughout history. It's vital that the Messiah descend from Abraham and David. So Matthew recorded the lineage from Abraham to David and from David to Jesus. When he did so, he must have noticed that there were roughly the same number of men from the start of the Jewish people to its height, as from the start of the Jewish kingdom to its end, as from the captivity to Jesus. There weren't 14 generations exactly, however. So Matthew edited the list by jumping from grand- or great-grandfathers to their later decedent ("son of" can mean any male decedent).

The image that Matthew seems to invoke that of a deep plan in human history managed by God and culminating in the person of Jesus. It is the story of the rise and fall of a people and the redemption of that story when a new "King of the Jews" was born. We are meant to be reminded of the very familiar names that take up the bulk of Jesus' genealogy and remember their triumphs and failures.

For a fairly exhaustive interpretation of this passage, I highly recommend Bob Deffinbaugh's article on bible.org.

Answer 2

I see Bruce stated this in a comment, but I'll give more detail. In Hebrew, David's name adds up to 14 when each letter is treated as a number (called gematria).

You skip the vowel points (nikkud) and just add up the values of the consonants dalet waw daleth (the same character is used for V and W). Dalet counts as 4, Waw counts as 6, and another Dalet adds 6 more. Thus, 14.

The name David means "beloved."

Answer 3

If we are to think like the first-century hearers, we must recognize that the importance of the number fourteen is that it is a multiple of (that ever-so-important number) seven. Matthew is implying that the entire flow of God's history of creating a people for himself shows that Jesus the Christ is our Sabbath rest.

Forty-two, not Fourteen

Three sets of fourteen is six sets of seven. The operative number here is not really fourteen but forty-two. And no, forty-two is not the answer to life, the universe, and everything; actually it is the precursor to the one who is the meaning of everything. Jesus Christ is the seventh week of history; he is the completion and the culmination; he inaugurates the last days.

In the Lord Jesus, God's redemptive work comes to a rest. This does not mean that God becomes inert, but that that the finality and totality are invested in him, and history never moves beyond him, as he lives on in his indestructible life, ruling from on high.

Old Testament Prophecies

I am not aware of prophecies that reference the number fourteen. However, when this is seen as a matter of the seventh seven, all the significance of seven and its square come into play. There are a handful of references to forty-two in the Old Testament, but none of them shed a lot of light on this situation. The most relevant prophecy may be Daniel's reference to the week of weeks:

Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times. —Daniel 9:25 (NLT)

Admittedly, Daniel is giving a different perspective on the narrative than Matthew, but the same theological meaning of the seventh seven: the Messiah will be the fulfillment of all things.

New Testament Prophecies

The meaning of forty-two is further clarified by the last book of prophecy as the time of the dominion of the nations over God's people:

But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. —Revelation 11:2 (NLT)

And:

Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. —Revelation 13:5 (NLT)

The Messiah is the one who brings this time to an end, defeating the enemies of God and rescuing his people. Upon his arrival, the time of trampling is over.

Conclusion

In Jon Ericson's answer, he links to an article by Bob Deffinbaugh, who points out the strong connections between Matthew 1 and Genesis 1. Indeed, what we see here is that just as God created progressively over six days, so God revealed himself progressively for six weeks, until on the seventh God himself appeared on earth and became our rest.